The Perfect Tree
by kiratotherescue
Summary: Part of the Tumblr "25 Days of Fic" meme. After hours of searching, Ben and Leslie finally find the perfect Christmas tree, but the journey isn't quite over yet.


"Ben, we've already driven to like, _four_ tree lots. Can we just make a decision already?" Leslie was completely exhausted from her and Ben's day of Christmas tree finding. She just wanted to fall asleep in the car. "I told you, I will not rest until we find the PERFECT tree! It has to be magical." "Ben, I'm sure any tree will be perfectly magical, as long as I get to put my Joe Biden ornament on it." All of this was cute to her at first, but she didn't think it would take this long. She tiredly got out of the car door after they parked in the next tree lot for the day. Ben seemed to somehow still be full of energy.

Of course, this particular lot was probably the largest one they had been to in the course of the entire day. It looked as if it could go on for miles. "Alright, let's hope that _our_ tree is here." Ben sighed. They spent quite a while walking down every aisle of trees. They did their usual "inspection," first examining the size, smelling the tree (who wants a Christmas tree that barely has any pine scent), and of course, the mighty price tag.

Finally, after what seemed to be twenty minutes of searching through the endless evergreen maze, Ben stopped right in his tracks in a part of the lot that was less abundant in trees. There was one right in the center area of where they were standing. It was giant, gorgeous, and Leslie had to admit that it had the best pine smell out of all the trees she had seen today. She could tell by the way Ben was looking at it that it was definitely "the one."

"We _have _to get it, Leslie. I mean, how cool is this going to look in the house?"

"Pretty cool, and not to mention freakishly big," Leslie laughed. "Will it even _fit_ inside the house?"

"Well, it better." Ben walked over to the tree and checked the price tag. His eyes opened wide.

"Should we be moving on from this one…?"

"Nope, I got it, I got it. We can't let this tree go to waste!"

Leslie wasn't even going to try and argue with him, so they went back to the front to get them to bring over the tree. Soon enough, they had it tied up on their car and were riding back home with it.

* * *

Everything seemed just right as they drove home with their new Christmas tree. Leslie was happy to see Ben so excited about it. Just as they got off the main road, though, they heard a large crack and a tumble—there was no question what the noise was. They both gasped and Ben stopped the car.

Leslie knew what was coming, but she didn't want to admit it. The tree had toppled off of the car and off into who knows where. It was so dark outside, there would really be no way to find it until the next day. Ben looked crushed. She tried to say something, but he just huffed and got back in the car like an upset little kid. It would be a long ride home.

Once they got home, they had dinner together, but Leslie could tell Ben was still a little sad about the tree that he had spent probably over $100 on. She wanted to do something to make up for it. She certainly wasn't going to buy another expensive tree, but she could definitely find _a_ tree.

After Ben had fallen asleep, Leslie snuck out of bed and out of the house. She got in the car and drove all the way out to the market. She grabbed every tree-like plant in sight and bought them all, then raced home. They wouldn't have a real Christmas tree, but they would have something even better.

* * *

When Ben woke up, he noticed Leslie wasn't still there sleeping next to him. He figured she had to get to work early. He realized that his assumption was wrong when he walked into the living room.

All along the mantle and by the fireplace were miniature evergreen trees. They were all strung with Christmas lights with little ornaments hung on them. Leslie had even hung the stockings up early. Ben smiled. It was one of the sweetest things anyone had ever done for him for Christmas.

"So I know we lost our precious tree of perfection, but I think this could work out just fine, right?" Leslie grinned.

"It's perfect," Ben hugged her. "Now if we could just find some mistletoe…"


End file.
